Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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Child marriage figures stand at 765 million: UNICEF

News:

An estimated 115 million boys and men around the world were married as children, UNICEF said on Friday in its first ever in-depth analysis of child grooms. Of these, one in five children, or 23 million, were married before the age of 15.

Beyond News:

Using data from 82 countries, the study reveals that child marriage among boys is prevalent across a range of countries around the world, spanning sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, South Asia, and East Asia and the Pacific.

Steals childhood

• According to the data, the Central African Republic has the highest prevalence of child marriage among males (28%), followed by Nicaragua (19%) and Madagascar (13%).
• The new estimates bring the total number of child brides and child grooms to 765 million. Girls remain disproportionately affected, with 1 in 5 young women aged 20 to 24 years old married before their 18th birthday, compared to 1 in 30 young men.

Most at risk

• While the prevalence, causes and impact of child marriage among girls have been extensively studied, little research exists on child marriage among boys.
• However, children most at risk of child marriage come from the poorest households, living in rural areas, and have little to no education.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Centre lifts landholding limit, extends PM-KISAN scheme to all farmers

News:

The Central Government on Saturday notified a decision to extend the benefit of ₹6,000 per year under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme to all 14.5 crore farmers in the country, irrespective of the size of their landholding.

Beyond news:

• Notifying the decision, the Union Agriculture Ministry has written to all State Governments, asking them to identify beneficiaries subject to the existing exclusion factors.
• Those excluded from the PM-KISAN include institutional land holders, farmer families holding constitutional posts, serving or retired officers and employees of State or Central government as well as Public Sector Under takings and Government Autonomous bodies.
• Professionals like doctors, engineers and lawyers as well as retired pensioners with a monthly pension of over ₹10,000 and those who paid income tax in the last assessment year are also not eligible for the benefits.
• The ₹75,000 crore scheme was announced in the interim budget in in February 2019, under which the Central Government decided to provide ₹6,000 per year, in three equal installments, to an estimated 12.5 crore small and marginal farmers holding land up to 2 hectares.
• The revised scheme will further cover two crore more farmers with an estimated expenditure of ₹87,217.50 crore in the 2019-20 fiscal year.
• The Centre has also asked State Governments to use the existing land ownership system to identify beneficiaries and transfer the benefits after the family details are uploaded on the PM-KISAN portal.
• The responsibility of identifying the eligible beneficiary farmers and uploading their data on PM-KISAN portal lies entirely with the State Governments, it said.
• The Government so far has enrolled 3.66 crore beneficiaries. Of these, 3.03 crore have been paid the first installment of ₹2,000 and of them, two crore have got the second installment as well.

India, Portugal to join hands in setting up maritime museum

News:

• India and Portugal will cooperate in the setting up of a national maritime heritage museum at Lothal in 

Beyond news:

• The Indian Navy is keen to be a stakeholder in the project and the Portuguese Navy has agreed to assist with their experience of administering the maritime museum in Lisbon, according to defence sources.
• The Government of India has allocated a grant for building the maritime museum and the foundation stone for the project was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March.
• The project is being implemented by the Ministry of Shipping through its Sagarmala programme, with the involvement of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the State government and other stakeholders.

U.S. approves sale of armed drones, offers missile defense systems to India

News:

The Trump administration has approved the sale of armed drones to India and has offered integrated air and missile defence systems aimed at helping the country boost its military capabilities and protect shared security interests in the strategically important Indo-Pacific region.

Beyond news:

• The approval-cum-offer from the U.S. came in the aftermath of the February 14 Pulwama terrorist attack in which 40 Indian soldiers were killed and the increasing militarisation and assertiveness of China in the Indo-Pacific ocean.
• India was the first non-treaty partner to be offered a Missile Technology Control Regime Category-1 Unmanned Aerial System — the Sea Guardian Unmanned Aerial System manufactured by General Atomics. Close on the heels of armed drones, which will have its implications in South Asia and Indo-Pacific region, the U.S. has also offered its integrated defense missile capabilities to India.
• India, which has already signed an agreement with Russia to purchase S-400 missile defense system, is yet to respond to the American offer which came of its own.
• The U.S. had designated India as a Major Defense Partner in 2016. In accordance with the designation, India was granted Strategic Trade Authorization Tier-1 status in 2018, which allows it to receive license-free access to a wide range of military and dual-use technologies that are regulated by the Department of Commerce.
• With a Communications, Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) and other enabling agreements now in place, the U.S–India defense trade cooperation continues to expand, the fact sheet said.
• Some of the recent top defense sales to India totaling more than $8.5 billion include MH-60R Seahawk Helicopters, Apache Helicopters, P-8I Maritime Patrol Aircraft, and M777 Howitzers. The State Department is also pushing for Lockheed Martin F-21 and Boeing F-18/A – two state-of-the-art fighter aircraft that India is currently evaluating.

India, Maldives sign six key agreements

News:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Maldives on Saturday, his first state visit abroad since being re-elected to office, was marked by the signing of six key agreements, and substantive bilateral level talks, reaffirming cooperation between the two countries.

Beyond News:

Mr Modi was also conferred with the Maldives’ highest honour — the Rule of Nishan Izzuddeen — by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

Defence, trade deals

• The Memorandums of Understanding (Mou) covered areas such as hydrography, health, passenger and cargo services by sea, capacity building in customs and civil service training.
• A technical agreement on sharing ‘White Shipping Information’ between the Indian Navy and the Maldives National Defence Force was also signed, enabling exchange of prior information on the movement of commercial, non-military vessels.
•  “Both leaders welcomed the signing of the $800 million Line of Credit Agreement in March 2019, for assisting the Maldives to achieve sustainable social and economic development. The leaders stressed the need to work towards expeditious implementation of people-centric and socio-economic projects,”
• After the talks, Mr Modi said, the two countries have agreed to start a ferry service between Kochi and the Maldives. He added that the launch of RuPay Card in the Maldives will give a boost to tourism.

Ties reset

• After years of witnessing souring relations during President Abdulla Yameen’s term from 2013-2018, New Delhi and Male reset ties last year after President Solih was elected. Mr. Modi attended President Solih’s inaugural ceremony in Male in November 2018, and President Solih’s first visit abroad, after assuming office, was to India in December 2018.
• In April this year, Mr. Solih’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) swept general polls securing an impressive majority in parliament, ahead of Mr. Modi’s own big election win back home. The respective victories are seen as having strengthened prospects for continuity in strong ties, a stark shift from Mr. Yameen’s time when New Delhi grew increasingly concerned over his apparent “China tilt”.
• While Mr. Modi’s visit is seen as underscoring his government’s “neighbourhood first policy”, President Solih on Saturday reaffirmed his “India-First Policy”, pledging his government’s “full support towards deepening the multifaceted, mutually beneficial partnership” between India and the Maldives.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Golden langur to get fruits of MGNREGA

News:

For the first time since it became law in 2005, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) will have non-human beneficiaries — the rare golden langur (Trachypithecus geei) in a reserve forest in western Assam’s Bongaigaon district.

Beyond news:

• On June 5, the district authorities launched a ₹27.24-lakh project under the MGNREGA to plant guava, mango, blackberry and other fruit trees to ensure that the resident golden langurs of the 17 sq.km. Kakoijana Reserve Forest do not have to risk their lives to find food. Several golden langurs have died due to electrocution and in road accidents while looking for food beyond the reserve forests.
•  This is the first time MGNREGA is being used with a focus on food for a primate species. The project entails planting 10,575 saplings and seedlings of fruit-bearing trees.
• Wildlife activists have lauded the Bongaigaon administration’s step, but said the effort can be sustained only if Kakoijana is declared a wildlife sanctuary.
• Chakrashila, India’s first wildlife sanctuary with golden langur as the primary species. Chakrashila has about 600 golden langurs whose population is scattered across western Assam and the foothills of Bhutan.
• Officials said there are about 1,400 golden langurs, currently classified as endangered, in India.

Scientists create a global map of where groundwater meets oceans

News:

Scientists have created high-resolution maps of points around the globe where groundwater meets the oceans — the first such analysis of its kind that may help protect both drinking water and the seas.

Beyond News:

• In a study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters,researchers from The Ohio State University in the U.S. showed that nearly one-half of fresh submarine groundwater discharge flows into the ocean near the tropics.
• They also found that regions near active fault lines send greater volumes of groundwater into the ocean than regions that are tectonically stable.
• They found that dry, arid regions have very little groundwater discharge, opening the limited groundwater supplies in those parts of the world to saltwater intrusion.
• The team worked with researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of Saskatchewan to combine topographical data from satellites and climate models to show the flow of groundwater around the world’s coasts.

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